painted ladies

a rather faded painted lady ... apparently they have been arriving in great clouds blown in from North Africa on warm winds from the South. No wonder they look a bit jaded. Once again they have arrived at the same time as ragged robin is out (see link from 2006). There are hundreds of them around. How do they get back to Africa?

more from the world of small flowers

the unbelievably exotic flower of the pick-a-back plant (aka tolmiea menziesii), which is very small but spreading everywhere shady, and, below, the mysterious beard at the entrance to cowwheat. What do all these bits and appendages do?

four orchids and a fun day

the fourth orchid of the day, the southern marsh orchid, and below, a close up of the very small but very beautiful eyebright. We are working hard on these close ups to keep up with our friends in the USA.

four orchids and a fun day

closer inspection revealed three denizens of the insect world


who, following introductions,

clambered over each other; it is not clear who is going to be whose breakfast. I think the coloured spider in the top photo may be the male of the white species (which may be a crab spider (see link)) and he is taking avoiding action before he is eaten.

four orchids and a fun day

a late daffodil, variety unknown and one we have never seen before, presumably a remnant of the days when these meadows were used to grow daffodils. Further research indicates that this is a very complicated area (of course!), see this link

four orchids and a fun day

the lesser butterfly orchid, iridescent in the morning sun. There were also some greater butterfly orchids in the meadow but they are not yet in flower.